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How Can A Mom of 5 Manage Her Time?

When people know that I am a mom of five, I always get a wide eyed look, a shock, and then the very famous question, “How do you manage?”
It is true that I have a lot to do, and many are the times where I feel overwhelmed with my duties. But I am not the only one. With so many things on mind, we as moms of this generation are bewildered with our tight schedules and our children’s jammed timetables. We always have something to be realized, and we feel mortified if we do not achieve our goals, thinking that we are no longer super moms.

The fact, however, is that we should come to good terms with ourselves and learn to accept the idea that it is impossible to have everything done the way we visualize things. I am not saying that we should give up on our dreams. In contrast, we should always seek on attaining new objectives and improving ourselves, but to do that we need to manage our time efficiently so that we reach them smoothly, and with as much less stress as possible. The key to all of this is set in a person’s mind, and that is what I actually do.

SET YOUR PRIORITIES:

Having a clear idea on what your priorities are, facilitates a person’s living. By doing so, you are able to put value to your target and know where to start from. For example, if I am planning on having a party for my child, my main focus will be on the event itself. I try not to commit myself to any other social obligation as there will always be time for any other social event.

After all, time is mental since we create it, and a person can manage anything he creates. Once you believe in this, you will never use words like, “there is no time,”, “I am very busy,” “this is not the right moment,” etcetera. With your priorities set, you can then visualize when the good time to move on to another goal is. Moreover, a mom can decide what priorities she wants in her life, and it could range from her children and family, to work and social activities.

MULTI-TASKING:

As women, God has granted us with a special skill of multi-tasking, where we can answer the phone, stir the pasta in the pot, and check on our toddler who is having some fruits in his high-chair. In fact, due to this unique characteristic, we can achieve a lot of our “to do” list. We should make good use of this skill, yet we should not abuse it. After all, we need to be able to carry on with our responsibilities. That is why when I feel that I cannot commit myself to something which I am unable to do well, I simply do not do it.

BE ORGANIZED:

Organization is the key to success. Having things under hand facilitates my work and helps me in managing my schedule. Whether it is a mental or a physical organization, having things in place, saves time and opens doors to new experiences. I usually assign main chores with clear instructions to the members of my family and this insures the fluidity of managing my house in a systemised manner.
There are many ways where order, neatness, and efficiency can be attained at home. For example, I set the menu of the week over the weekend, post a ready-made grocery list on the fridge, and have extra chicken stock and cooked vegetables in the freezer. By doing so, we will not need to go the supermarket more than once in order to do our grocery shopping. Hence, we gain some time. There are millions of interesting ideas on the web that show you how you can organize your household, from toys, to kitchen utensils, etcetera. Check out this link for an efficient grocery list builder: www.kidspot.com.au/shoppinglist/ShoppingList.asp

JOT OR DRAW YOUR PLANS:

If you are a visual person, jotting down your notes or even drawing your ideas and thoughts, helps you to attain your objectives easily. If for example, I am redecorating my living room, I draw a sketch on how I visualize it. This facilitates in applying my plans the way I imagined them to be. Moreover, I will purchase items that are needed instead of buying a lot of stuff which I might later discover as useless.

LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE:

That inner voice is our intuition. As I mentioned earlier, once your body tells you that you need to stop and have a break, do that. We can not continue working in the same rhythm if we exceed our capacities. We always need to push the restart button every once in a while. It is absolutely normal and human to feel that you are not in the mood of being active every single day.

ESTABLISH A ROUTINE:

Even though routines and schedules seem tedious and tiring, but they make things structured. As mentioned before, the better the organization the more effective the time management is.Your routine is also controlled by you, and it is up to you whether it is boring, interesting, strict, fun, cultivating, or enlightening. Routine establishes order, and with order things move smoothly. As a mom of five, I am assertive and flexible at the same time. I always remind myself to be flexible and accept sudden changes. It is important to go with the flow and learn to adjust quickly to any new transformations.

Get Help:

Having someone to help in doing the household chores, facilitates a mom’s life. Recently, I have been having an amazing French teen-ager who comes once a week and stays with the twins. Meanwhile, I can spend some quality time with my third son, who seems to be missing those days together. The elder two boys have homework, so they will be working on it. It is also helpful if you can hire a teacher who might help in finishing up a few assignments and preparations. We have also adopted this option this year, so I can be free to be with the rest of my children and spend some fun time together.

DO IT WITH PLEASURE:

Whatever I perform, I accomplish it with pleasure. Whether I am baking, changing my baby’s diaper, tying my boy’s shoe lace, or even helping my son with his school project, I do it with pleasure and try my best to live that moment. By time, I do hope that this will become my innate nature and it is known that once a person finds pleasure in the things he/she is doing, he/she will attract positivity and feel contented. I know that it is hard to be attained, but it is not impossible.